INDIANAPOLIS---Following on the heels of its successful Advanced Coaching Program, the NCAA has selected 12 college football coaches for its Expert Coaching Program--the second level of its ethnic minority initiative program--scheduled for June 1-3 in Indianapolis.

The Coaches Academy is an NCAA initiative created to address the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of football. Of the current 117 Division I-A head football coaches, five are African-American and two are Hispanic. Only three percent of head coaches in all NCAA Divisions are ethnic minorities, excluding the historically black colleges and universities.

The Expert Coaching Program was created for ethnic minority football coaches with at least six years of experience. The mission of the Expert Coaching Program is to teach and reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in NCAA head coaching positions at the Division I-A level; and to provide participants with an experience that emphasizes the importance of skill enhancement, networking and exposure to key stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics. NCAA athletics administrators, football coaches, and business and communications officials will present during the three-day program. Workshop topics will include: new and innovative approaches to coaching; developing and strengthening relationships with student-athletes; cutting-edge game strategies; game-day coaching skills; and off-the-field concerns.

The NCAA hosted its first Coaches Academy program-the Advanced Coaching Program-in Orlando this past January prior to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) convention. There are three distinct levels of the NCAA Coaches Academy: Expert, Advanced and Executive. In addition to the Expert Coaching Program, the Advanced Coaching Program is geared toward football coaches with at least four years of experience, while the Executive Coaching Program is for football coaches with at least eight years of experience. A select number of coaches who attended the Advanced Coaching Program were also selected to participate in the Expert Coaching Program.

The NCAA will administer the Expert Coaching Program with support from the AFCA, the Black Coaches Association (BCA) and the National Football League (NFL). The Expert Coaching Program will precede the BCA annual convention, which also is being held in Indianapolis at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

The participants for the 2004 NCAA Expert Coaching Program are:

• Ronald English, University of Michigan (D-IA), secondary coach
• Albert Preston, University of Notre Dame (D-IA), assistant coach
• Mark Gale, Marshall University (D-IA), associate head coach
• Rodney Gardner, University of Georgia (D-IA), assistant coach/recruiting coordinator
• David Kelly, Duke University (D-IA), associate head coach
• Vantz Singletary, University of Hawaii, Manoa (D-IA), defensive line coach
• Donald Thompson, University of Illinois, Champaign (D-IA), assistant coach
• Norries Wilson, University of Connecticut (D-IA), offensive coordinator
• Charles Bankins, Hampton University (D-IAA), recruiting coordinator/running backs coach
• James Reese III, Tennessee State University (D-I-AA), head coach
• James Salgado, Northeastern University (D-IAA), assistant head coach/defensive backfield coach
• William Lund, Colby College (DIII), special teams coordinator/linebacker coach

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